Rotary steam-engine.



Patentgd Aug 13, I918. 4'5HEET5-SIIEET l H. w. Bos'AnL ROTARY STEAM ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29. l9l4.

Patented Aug. 13., 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2 H. W-. BOGARL ROTARY STEAM ENGIN E. APPLICATION rlLzoop'nzs. m4.

H."W. BOGART. ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29.1914- 1,275,373. Patented Aug. 13, 1918. 4 S IIEETS-SIIEEI 3- Zimm- -H. W. BOGART.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.)

"APPLICATION men ocr. 29. m4.

Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

l Q SHEETSSIIEET-4.

Err/rent I 'projerl s UNITED STATES rArENr OFFICE.

HENRY W. BOGART, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE MCMYLER INTERSTATE COMPANY, OF BEDFORD, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

ROTARY STEAM-ENGINE.

Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and ;State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Rotary Steam- Engines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to produce an efficient rotary steam engine; and the invention consists in the construction and combination of parts shown in the drawing and hereinafter described, and briefly de fined by the appended claims.

In the drawing, Figure l is a front elevation, for most parts in longitudinal vertical section, of an engine embodying the invention. -Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through the engine cylinder when the 'parts therein are assembled in working relation. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through the empty engine cylinder. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional View in the plane indicated by line 4-4 on Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section of the fly wheel and adjacent parts of the engine shaft. Fig. 6 is an elevation partly broken away of one of the packing rings 80.

Fig. '7 is a sectional view of said packing ring. Fig. 8 is an enlarged transverse section in the plane of line 8-8 on Fig. .1; and Fig. 9 is a transverse section in the plane of line 99 on Fig. 1.

Referring to the parts by letters, 10 represents the cylinder which contains an ellip toid recess 11, the ends of which are closed by the two bolted arni heads 12and 13. Within the recess 11 are four concentric cylindrical members arranged one within another, via, thcTrol-atablo cut-oil sleeve 20, the fixed non-rotatable steam inlet sleeve 30, the hollow rotatable engine shaft 40, and the rotor 50. The sleeve 30 passes out of the cylinder recess through a hole in the head '13, and has outside of said head a flange 31 Tliis flange is bolted lo the head 13 and to the flange 35 of the steam inlet pipe 36.

The engine shaft 40 is tubular from end to end. It is rotatably mounted in a suit able bearing 90 which is carried by a fixed pedestal 91. From this hearing the shaft extends in both directions. At one end it into the cvlinder 10, .)assing through a hole in the head 12, and through Specification of Letters Patent. Patented A 13 1918 Application filed October 29, 1914.

Serial No. 869,185.

a stufling box 14 carried by said head. The part of the shaft within the recess is of enlarged external diameter and embraces and nicely fits the cylindrical inlet sleeveBO.

The cylindrical cut-off sleeve 20 is fitted to and is rotatable in the fixed inlet sleeve 30, and is open at the end which is adjacent to the inlet pipe 36. A shaft 25 has a driving connection with the opposite end. of the cut-off sleeve and passes therefrom through an axial hole in shaft 40, and projectsfrom the left end of said shaft. The end of the cut-off sleeve 20 has a diametrical slot which receives fingers which project in diametri cally opposite directions from the shaft 25, as shown in Fig. 8. The projecting left end of the shaft 25 is connected with the engine shaft 40 by automatic governor mechanism to be presently described, whereby the engine shaft and the shaft 25- and the cut-off sleeve 20 connected therewith, must rotate in substantial unison, although the engine shaft, on the one hand, and the cut-off sleeve and its shaft, on the other hand, are permitted a slight relative angular movement.

The rotor 50 embraces and is keyed to the enlarged part of the engine shaft within the' The rotor is fornied with two diametrically o )osed radial slots 52 each of which ex--' tends from ()llG't-llltlof the rotor to the other, and from the periphery of the rotor inward a suitable distance. Ineachof these radial iston blade"60is 'slid'ably fitted. These bla capableof slots a radially movable sliding toward andfrom the axis of the rot or in said slots, and do so-slide sufficiently to enable their outer edges to always engage the inner peripheral wall of the elliptoid recess. \Vhen the rotor is being turned, the

centrifugal force will be sufiicient to cause these blades to remain in en agement with the elliptoid surface referre to, and even when the rotor is not in motion these blades will generally remain in contact with Silld elliptoid surface. but in order to insure a 1 shaft, these ports 23 are ahncd with the suflicientl close contact of the outer edges of the b ades wit-h said elliptoid surface, each of the heads 12 and 13 has formed in its inner face an elliptoid groove 1(5,that is to say, a groove which corresponds in shape to the shape of the inner wall of the cylinder. Each of the blades 60, in that event, would have projecting from each of its ends a pin 61 which projects into and fits rather loosely the adjacent elliptoid groove. Therefore when the rotor turns, these blades 60 will be positively moved inward and outward so as to substantially maintain the desiredcontact between their outer edges and the inner periphery ofthe cylinder. Adjacent to each of the radial slots 52, and behind the blade therein with respect to the direction in which the rotor turns, is the steam port 53 which extends from the conter to the periphery of the rotor. Other ports43, cut through the walls of the shaft 40, are in constant communication with these ports 53. Steam ports 83 are cut through the walls of the fixed steam inlet sleeve. Each of these ports extends through an arcual distance of about 75 degrees.

There are diametrically opposed ports 23 formed through the walls of the cut-oil sleeve 20, and when this cutoff sleeve is in its normal position relative to the engine corresponding ports 43 in the shaft 40.

When steam is admitted to the engine from the inlet pipe 36, it goes into the cutofi' sleeve. When this cut-elf sleeve and the rotor and the engine shaft are turned to such positions that the ports 23 and 43 register and communicate with the ports 33, the steam admitted to the cut-oil sleeve will rush through these ports into the spaces between the periphery of the rotor and the cylinder. The steam pressure thereby ex erted between the piston blades and the abutments, furnished by the. overhanging indrawing wall of the cylinder recess, will cause the rotor to turn, carrying with it the engine shaft, which, as before stated, is so connected with the cut-ofl sleeve that it also ably formed of a plurality of diagonally disposed slots, as shown in Fig. 2. Normally, steam will be cut-ofi' tr qgg the Steam will be admitted to the steam further expansion of the ring.

cylinder when the rotor has turned through about 80 degrees of are after the two blades 60 have passed the two packing strips 15. \V hen these blades begin to pass the ports 72 the steam which had theretofore, by pressure against the piston blades, caused the rotor to turn, will begin to exhaust.

The proper packing of the various joints so as to prevent wasteful escape of steam is essential to the practical success of the described mechanism. The prevention of the escape of steam from the cylinder chamber at the ends of the rotor is taken care of by two packing rings 80 which are fixed to op posite ends of the rotor. These packing rings project into circular grooves 17, and 18 in the cylinder heads 12 and 13 respec tively. The outer circular walls of these grooves are engaged by the outer cylindrical surfaces of the packing rings. Obviously, these engaging cylindrical surfaces must fit nicely together to prevent the cscapenrent of the steam. In order to bring about this nice fit in a practical way, each of these packing rings is split, butthe adjacentends of each ring are connected by a link 81.

This occupies a position in a groove 82 cut in the inner periphery of both ends of the ring. Normally the packing ring is made slightly larger in diameter than is required to fit t 1e groove. One of thepins 82 which connects a link with one end of. the ring goes into a slightly elongated hole in either the ring or the link,preferably the latter, as showm The packing ring is slightly contracted in diameter when it is inserted into the circular groove in thehead. When in the groove, the ring expands slightly, and therefore fits tight] against the outer wall of the groove. A ter the engine has been run awhile, however, the two engaging surfaces of the ring and the groove will wcnr upon one another until they come to exactly fit. The elongated slot 83 which receives the pin 82, by which the .link andone end of the ring varc connected, is made as near as possible to be of a length such that when this nice fit has been brought about, the pin will come in Contact with the cud of the slot, and thereby' prevent any Thereafter these two nicely fitted surfaces will not wear to any great degree upon one another, and this nice fit so produced will persist for a very long tin'ie. The connection between the rotor and the packing ring is by means of screws 84,w.hich pass through holes in the ring and screw into the rotor and have their heads in countersunk recesses in the ring, and springs '85 are placed in these re ccsscs just inside of the heads, whereby the rings will he hcld by the springs in close contact. with the rotor.

Thcre will be some end thrust produccd by the steam, tending to move the shaft 40 to theleft in its bearing. in order to prevent such endwise movement, a thrust bearin. is provided. The bearing sleeve 90, 1n wl ich shaft 40 is mounted, 1s enlarged near one end, and in this enlar ed part of the sleeve, surrounding the sha' a plurality of friction disks 92, 93, are' placed. The disk 93 is pinned to the shaft, and likewise abuts against a shoulder 46 thereon, while the disk 92 at the other end of the series engages the end 94 of the bearin sleeve. The enlarged part of this hearing s eeve has its upper portion cut away so that these disks 92, 93, may be passed to the position shown, 9). In other respects the bearing sleeve and parts associated therewith are. show-n in familiar form. The rings 25 will supply oil to the bearing surface between sleeve 90 and shaft 10 in a manner well underto this rock shaft.

stood.

Likewise the steam imparts to the cut-off sleeve 20 and its shaft 25 a tendency to move.

endwise to the left. This is resisted by the engagement of the projecting left end of the shaft 25 with a hardened w ar plate 101 which is fixed to the fly whee 100, whlch said fly wheel is likewise fixed to the shaft 40.

This fly wheel 100 is keyed or otherwise fixed to a shaft 47 which is mounted in a suitable bearing 48. The projecting left end of the shaft 25 has a pinion 27 fixed to it. This is engaged by a gear segment 102 which is fixed to a rock shaft 103, the latter rock shaft being mounted on the fly wheel with its axis parallel with the axis of the shaft 25;

A weighted lever arm 10 1 is ]ikewise fixed A spring 105 is connected at one end with the fly wheel, and at the other end with a part of the lever 104 in such wise that'it opposes swinging movement of the lever 104, which would otherwise result from the centrifu al force generated from 'tl-e revolution of the fly wheel. Specifically spring 105 is connected with lever 104 by means of a link 100, which is connected at one end with the spring 105, and at theother end is.connected by means of a bolt 110 with an arm 107 which is a rigid part of lever 104,-the said bolt 110 going through aslot 108 in said" arm 107. 'Because of this construction the connection between the spring and the lever 104 may be adjusted toward and from the axis of the rock shaft 103, and thereby will the swinging movement of the lever 104, by the centrifugal force, be varied within desired limits.

To the extent that such arm does swing and thereby rock the rock shaft 103, will the shaft 25 be turned with reference to the engine shaft 40. When it is so turned, the

cutoff sleeve will likewise be turned in the direction such as will shorten the time during which steam may pas through the ports (see Fig.

strips 56 are likewise set in the surface of this sleeve on opposite sides of the orts therein, and these likewise engage the s aft. Similarly, annular packing rings 28 and longitudinal packing strips 29 are set into the surface of the cut-off sleeve and these engage the inner periphery of the sleeve 30.

A packing disk 46 surrounds the shaft 25 and engages the inturned end flange of the steam inlet sleeve 30, and serves, in a large degree, to prevent the passage of steam around the shaft 25.

Likewise there is a stuffing box carried by the shaft 10 adjacent to the enlarged re cess in said shaft and the shaft passes through it.

The lubrication of the described 1nechanism may be efficiently secured by the means shown in Fig. 1. That is to say, the steam inlet pipe 36 has connected into it a box 64 having a removable side plate 05. A two part cage 06 contains a plurality of rings 67 which-eml'irace the edges of the wire gauze disk 08. \Vhen this cage is put into the casing 04: and the cover 65 is put on, oil is discharged into tliainlet pipe through a pipe (39. This oil will be drawn along by the. steam, and will be thoroughly broken up into a spray by its passage through'the plurality of wire gauze screens 68, and this spray carried along by the steam will reach every part of the engine requiring lubrication.

The term elliptoid applied to the chamber. within the cylinder is not to be construed limited to the exact form shown,--but is to be regarded as inclusive of any symmetrical non-cylindrical clhnnber adapted to engage with. the piston lf ades and to perform the described functio in connection therewith.

Ilaving describ d my invention, 1 claim.

1. [n a rotary the combination of a cylinder containing an lillijitoid chamber, and the following parts therein arranged roncpntrically one within another, via, a centrally placed cut-off sleeve, which sleeve rotattis with the engine shaft. and may be moved angularly with respect to the said shaft, means for turning the said sleeve, a fixed steam inlet sleeve, an engine shaft, and a rotor fixed to the shaft, radially movable blades carried by said rotor, and a steam inlet pipe connected with said fixed slecve,.---

the said four concentric parts having steam the cut-off sleeve into the space between the rotor and the cylinder, and means connecting the shaft and cut-off sleeve.

In a rotary engi e, the combination of a cylinder containin an elliptoid chamber, and the following parts therein arranged concentrically one'within another, viz., a centrally placed cut-ofi sleeve, which sleeve rotates with the engine shaft and may be moved angularly with respect to the said shaft, a fixed steam inlet sleeve, a shaft and a rotor fixed to the shaft, radially movable blades carriedbysaid rotor, and a steam inlet pipe connected with said fixed sleeve, the said four concentric parts having steam ports throu h'which steam may pass from the cut-off s eeve into the space between the rotor and the cylinder, and means connect ing the shaft and cut-off sleeve, said means permitting angular movement of the cut-off sleeve and shaft.

3. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder containing an elliptoid chamber, and the following parts therein arranged concentrically one within another, viz., a centrally placed cut-off sleeve, which sleeve rotates with the engine shaft and may be moved .angularly with respect to the said shaft, a fixed steam inlet sleeve, a shaft and a rotor fixed to the shaft, radially movable blades carried by said rotor, and a steam inlet pipe connected with said fixed sleeve,- the said four concentric parts having steam ports through which steam may pass from the cut-off sleeve into the space between the rotor and the cylinder, means connecting the shaft and cut-off sleeve, said means permitting angular movement of the cut-off, sleeve and shaft, and automatic governor mechanism controlling the extent of such relative angular movement.

4. In a rotary engine the combination of a cylinder containing an elliptoid. chamber and the following parts Within said chamber arranged concentrically, to-wit: a centrally placed cut-off sleeve, a fixed steam inlet sleeve, a shaft, a rotor fixed shaft, radially movable blades carried by the rotorya' steam inlet pipe connected with the said fixed sleeve, the said concentric parts having steam ports throijlgh which, steam may pass from the cut-off sleeve into the space between the rotor and the cylinder, means con necting the shaft and the cut-off sleeve and inlet sleeve, a shaft means for moving the said centrally placed cut-ofi' sleeve in its angular relation to the said shaft. J

5. In a rotary engine the combination of a cylinder containing an elliptoid chamber and the following parts arranged concen' trieally, one within another, to-wit: a centrally placed. cut-off sleeve, a fixed steam inlet sleeve, a shaft, a rotor fixed to the shaft, radially movable blades carried by said rotor, a steam inlet pipe connected with said fixed sleeve, the said four concentric parts having steam ports through which steam may pass from the cut-off sleeve into the space between the rotor and the cylinder, means connecting the shaft and the cut-off sleeve, a through the engine shaft and is connected at the one end with the cut-off sleeve and means whereby said shaft may be operated to change the angular relationship between the engine shaft and the said cut-off sleeve;

6. In a rotary engine, the combination of a cylinder containing an elliptoid chamber, and the following parts therein arranged concentrically one within another, viz., a centrally placed cut-off sleeve, a fixed steam and a rotor fixed to the shaft, radially movable blades carried by said rotor, and a steam inlet pipe connected with said fixed sleeve,'the said four concentric parts having steam ports through which steam may pass from the cut-off sleeve shaft which extends centrally into the space between the rotor and the cylinder, means connecting theshaft and cut-off sleeve, a shaft which extends axially through the engine shaft and is connected at one end with the cut-oil shaft and which projects at its other end behind the engine shaft, a fly wheel fixed to the engine shaft, a pinion fixed to the cut-off sleeve shaft, a rock shaft mounted on the fly wheel. having a gear segment which engages said pinion, a Weighted arm fixed to said rock shaft, and a spring opposing that movement of said weighted lever arm which is produced by centrifugal force.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aliix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.-

HENRY 'W. B'OGART. Witnesses:

A. J. HUnsoN, L. I. Pon'rnn. 

